Edward seedhouse



(No Model.)

B. SEEDHOUSE.

PLAYING GARD. v No. 326,678. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

VII/I/I/l/ PETERS, marum n hur, Wuhmzhm. ac,

- UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

EDWVARD SEEDHOUSE, OF N ETHERTON, NEAR DUDLEY, OOUN TY OF \VOROES- TEE,ENGLAND.

PLAYING-CARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.326,678, dated September22, 1885.

Application filed August 14, 18947 (No model.) Patented in EnglandSeptember 22,

1883, No. 4,535; in Belgium March 20, 1884,

No. 64,573; in France March 20, 1884, l\'o.1G1,069; in Germany March 21,1884, No. 29,84l; in Italy March 3l, 1e84,

XXXIII, 10S,'and in Austria October 19, 1884, No. 11,415.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD SnnnnoUsE, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at Netherton, near Dudley, 5 in the countyof Worcester, Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Cards, (for which I havereceived Letters Patent in England, No. 4,535,dated September 22, 1883;)and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My said invention has for its object the improvement of what arecommonly known as playing-cardsthat is to say, cards having devices onthem and used in games-the improvementrendering such playing-cards 2ocapable of being shuffled or intermixed in an easier and moreexpeditious manner than is possible with playing-cards as at presentordinarily manufactured.

There are various methods-all more or lessi1nperfectofshufliingorintermixingadopted by persons when playing withcards. One plan sometimes employ ed is as follows: The pack or set ofcards is divided into two smaller packages or portions, and by bringingthese two portions of the divided pack edge to edge and working andmanipulating them the cards of one package or portion are pushed betweenand intermingled with those of the other package or portion. Withplaying-cards as here- 3 5 tofore usually made this plan has variousobjections-such as, for instance, the aptitude of the cards to becomelocked or turned, and especially the difficulty of the operation inconsequence of the cards being of uniform thickness. My invention isdesigned to obviate such objections to the said plan of shuffling, andwit-h cards made according to my invention shuffling, whether by theabove method or by other methods, is materially facilitated, as is 5also the operation of dealing.

According to my invention playing-cards are made with some part or partsof them thicker than the edge, in the case of circular cards, or thanthe edges or parts of them in other cards.

Referring to the annexed drawing. which represents a playing-card incentral longitudinal section to an enlarged scale, it will be seen thecentral portion. a b, is thicker than the end portions, 0 a and b d,which gradually taper toward the edges 0 and d. The edge or edges ofthecards is or are made, by preference, as thin as is consistent withtheir being of the requisite strength and stiffness. The thickened partor parts is or are hardly perceptible in a single card; but in theaggregate, when all the cards are packed or placed together, thethickened parts prevent the thin parts of the cards from coming intoclose contact when at rest; but the holding tightly of the pack or of aportion of the pack at a point where the thin parts are juxtapositedcauses the edges at other parts to open or diverge from one another.Oonsequently when a pack of cards is separated into two portions for thepurpose of shuttling, and each of the two portions is held as abovedescribed, and the opened or divergent cdges of each portion of the packare brought together, the cards of one portion of the pack are easilypushed between and intermixed with the cards of the other portion of thepack, and by repeating the operation effectual shuffling and intermixingof the cards, which has hitherto been a somewhat difficult and tediousoperation, and has also required some little skill and practice, isspeedily, easily, and conveniently accomplished. When other methods ofshuffling are adopted, cards made according to my invention willinterleave more readily than those made of uniform thickness,Furthermore,with cards made according to my invention, and shuffled inthe manner hereinbefore described, the cards of a pack cannot readily beimproperly manipulated by the shuffler so as to favor cheating ordishonest practices.

Any suitable method of manufacturing may be adopted in the production ofcards with a part or parts thicker than the remainder, according to myinvention as above set forth. Thus the thickening may be produced byintroducing, during the process of manufacture, strips or other piecesof paper between the layers of material intended to form the respectivesurfaces of a sheet of card to be subsequently divided intoplaying-cards, or it may be produced by passing the length or portion ofcard inteudedto form a number of playing-cards be tween rolls arrangedin pairs, one or both of the rolls of each pair being arranged withsuitable very slight depressions corresponding to the thicker parts ofthe cards to be cut from each length or portion of card, so that wherethese depressions occurthe card will not be so much compressed, andconsequently at these parts the card will be thicker than at otherparts.

tially as described. 7 v

EDWARD SEEDHOUSE! Witnesses:

DANIELGRANGER LEwIs, JosEPB: GARDE,

Both of Netherton

